Neighbors mourn old oak tree that falls in Latham

Jack Kenyon, center, talks with a neighbor while looking at the rotted out stump of an oak tree that fell on his property on Hillcrest Road in Latham on Saturday, May 25, 2019. Kenyon and his neighbors said the tree dates back to the 1800s or earlier and that people used to get married by the tree back when a stream ran by. less

Jack Kenyon, center, talks with a neighbor while looking at the rotted out stump of an oak tree that fell on his property on Hillcrest Road in Latham on Saturday, May 25, 2019. Kenyon and his neighbors said the ... more

Photo: By Larry Rulison

Photo: By Larry Rulison

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Jack Kenyon, center, talks with a neighbor while looking at the rotted out stump of an oak tree that fell on his property on Hillcrest Road in Latham on Saturday, May 25, 2019. Kenyon and his neighbors said the tree dates back to the 1800s or earlier and that people used to get married by the tree back when a stream ran by. less

Jack Kenyon, center, talks with a neighbor while looking at the rotted out stump of an oak tree that fell on his property on Hillcrest Road in Latham on Saturday, May 25, 2019. Kenyon and his neighbors said the ... more

Photo: By Larry Rulison

Neighbors mourn old oak tree that falls in Latham

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Colonie

A massive, rotted-out oak tree on Hillcrest Road in Latham toppled over onto Jack and Cynthia Kenyon's front lawn around noon on Saturday.

With a trunk at least six feet in diameter, the oak's massive limbs and branches totally obscured the Kenyon home, and made the road unpassable until town highway crews and a tree-trimming service would arrive at the scene about four hours later to start cleaning it up.

The inside of the home was not damaged, although some of the home's exterior may need repairs, such as the chimney, Jack Kenyon said.

And while no one was hurt - the Kenyons were out of the house when the tree fell - neighbors say the neighborhood has lost a tree they say dates to the 1800s or perhaps even earlier.

"This tree is as old as the American Revolution," said Jack Kenyon, a former history teacher and baseball coach at LaSalle Institute in Troy. "I knew it was a historic tree. I knew there was tremendous history."

Colonie Town Historian Kevin Franklin couldn't be immediately reached to say what is officially known about the significance of the tree, which was located right on the edge of the roadway between homes at 41 Hillcrest and 31 Hillcrest.

Some neighbors said the tree had its own deed so that it couldn't be torn down by a property owner. Others said it had been a popular location for wedding vows back before the Latham Heights Park neighborhood, back when a stream ran through where the road is now located.

"That tree couldn't be touched," said neighbor Heather Irvwin.

Jack Kenyon, who had been in Clifton Park watching his old LaSalle baseball team fall to Shenendehowa in the Section II tournament, said it was fitting the tree fell on Memorial Day weekend.

"It's seen all of America," Kenyon said. "It think it's maybe a sign that we need to change things. We need Jesus in America."